UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

In the latest close session, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) was up +1.3% at $331.83. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.03% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.04%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.09%. The largest U.S. health insurer's stock has dropped by 0.65% in the past month, falling short of the Medical sector's loss of 0.5% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.57%.The upcoming earnings release of UnitedHealth Group will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on January 27, 2026. In that report, analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to post earnings of $2.09 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 69.31%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $113.64 billion, indicating a 12.73% upward movement from the same quarter last year. Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $16.3 per share and revenue of $448.03 billion, indicating changes of -41.07% and +11.93%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for UnitedHealth Group. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system. The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. UnitedHealth Group presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). In the context of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 20.09. This denotes a premium relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 13.62. Meanwhile, UNH's PEG ratio is currently 2.13. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Medical - HMOs industry stood at 1.33 at the close of the market yesterday. The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 204, positioning it in the bottom 18% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions. Zacks Naming Top 10 Stocks for 2026Want to be tipped off early to our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2026? History suggests their performance could be sensational.From 2012 (when our Director of Research Sheraz Mian assumed responsibility for the portfolio) through November, 2025, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,530.8%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +570.3%.Now Sheraz is combing through 4,400 companies to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold in 2026. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 5. Be First to New Top 10 Stocks >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks